Women, poverty and adverse maternal outcomes in Nairobi, Kenya

Chimaraoke O Izugbara,David P Ngilangwa

doi:10.1186/1472-6874-10-33

Chimaraoke O Izugbara, David P Ngilangwa

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-10-33

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Abstract

BackgroundThe link between poverty and adverse maternal outcomes has been studied largely by means of quantitative data. We explore poor urban Kenyan women's views and lived experiences of the relationship between economic disadvantage and unpleasant maternal outcomes.MethodSecondary analysis of focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews data with women in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya.ResultsUrban poor women in Nairobi associate poverty with adverse maternal outcomes. However, their accounts and lived experiences of the impact of poverty on maternal outcomes underscore dynamics other than those typically stressed in the extant literature. To them, poverty primarily generates adverse maternal outcomes by exposing women to exceedingly hard and heavy workloads during pregnancy and the period surrounding it; to intimate partner violence; as well as to inhospitable and unpleasant treatment by service providers.ConclusionsPoverty has wider and more intricate implications for maternal outcomes than are acknowledged in extant research. To deliver their expected impact, current efforts to promote better maternal outcomes must be guided by a more thorough perspective of the link between women's livelihoods and their health and wellbeing.

Highlights

The link between poverty and adverse maternal outcomes has been studied largely by means of quantitative data
Among many other issues that emerged from the study, the current paper addresses women’s perspectives of the impact of poverty on maternal health
One focus group discussions (FGDs) session was held in each slum community with eight purposively-selected women leaders drawn from critical religious, civic, political and cultural publics. Given their popularity in the study communities, we interviewed Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs)

Summary

Introduction

The link between poverty and adverse maternal outcomes has been studied largely by means of quantitative data. We explore poor urban Kenyan women’s views and lived experiences of the relationship between economic disadvantage and unpleasant maternal outcomes. The rich-poor gap in maternal outcomes has been examined largely by means of quantitative data and explained principally in terms of poorer women’s reduced chances of receiving prenatal care [1]. For instance, addressed barriers related to formal emergency obstetric care utilization among poor urban Kenyans women [9]. While it spotlighted poverty as a key inhibitor of urban

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Conclusion